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At this time of year, the Jersey Shore, its boardwalk and its beaches seem very far away to me.

Memories I have generated over the past two summers during vacations in Asbury Park and Ocean Grove — two Jersey Shore communities — leave me feeling distant and detached. If only I could feel that sand between my toes during those post-dinner, sunset walks on the beach, my heart and my head would be so much happier.

The calendar tells me that a Jersey Shore road trip is many months away. But none other than Bruce Springsteen himself, whose music on a year-round basis celebrates the razzmatazz of the Garden State’s Atlantic Ocean shoreline, is going to help me get through this winter, whether he knows it or not.

I am still in a state of disbelief regarding the fact that I will be attending “Springsteen on Broadway” on Feb. 3. With this performance during a run of shows at the Walter Kerr Theatre in Manhattan, The Boss will provide yet another musical milestone for me, someone who has never been a very big fan.

His name is in lights on Broadway! The marquee of 'Springsteen On Broadway' at the Walter Kerr Theatre shines bright.(Photo: Evan Agostini, Invision/AP)

But even though I have remained over decades somewhat indifferent to the Springsteen catalog of songs, he has always been there for me.

There was my older sister’s copy of the “Born to Run” LP. There were the defiant tones and searching lyrics in the song, “Born in the U.S.A.” And Springsteen’s “My Hometown” has always underscored the fact that, fame and fortune aside, there is plenty that The Boss and I have in common.

I saw Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform years ago at the Hartford Civic Center in Connecticut and they were awesome. But for some reason, I didn’t take the plunge into Springsteen hysteria that night.

Bruce Springsteen in 'Springsteen on Broadway.'(Photo: Rob DeMartin)

Springsteen on Broadway has been performing on acoustic guitar and piano. And I’ll be attending the performance with my girlfriend, who grew up in New Jersey, near the shore. Thanks to her, I am gaining a deep understanding, from the inside, of the brick-and-mortar cornerstones that anchor the history and the hopes of this seaside community.

I look forward to reconnecting with Springsteen on Broadway. And even though I don’t own any of his records, and probably never will, I think the fact that Springsteen continues to speak to me on so many levels, over a lifetime, is totally boss.